The championship leaders of the South African Cross Country Series for Motorcycles and Quads (SACCS Moto) have earned their leads with constant victories and consistent performances during the four rounds of the 2017 series. None of the various championships have, however, been confirmed and with two rounds remaining, anything can still happen.
After the recent Toyota 1000 Desert Race (TDR) that formed the third and fourth rounds of the SACCS Moto series, a healthy amount of points for the leaders meant that they have confirmed their leads, but not too many points separate the riders from each other and the titles are not wrapped up yet.
In the overall championship of the motorcycle category, two more victories for the Botswana rider, Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM) in front of his home crowd resulted in him strengthening his overall lead with Brett Swanepoel (Pepson Plastics Husqvarna Racing) 18 points further back in second place. Two riders, Kenny Gilbert (Liqui Moly Racing Husqvarna) and Kyle Flanagan (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) have the same amount of points and trail Swanepoel by 20 points while Branch’s team-mate, Louwrens Mahoney, has climbed to fifth spot overall where he is a mere two points behind Gilbert and Flanagan.
Branch, Swanepoel and Flanagan have all claimed four consecutive victories this year and lead OR1 (Open), OR2 (250cc) and the OR3 (200cc) championships respectively.
With only five points the difference between a victory and third place, consistent results mean there are not too many large gaps between competitors. In OR1, the newcomer to cross country racing, motocross champion, Tristan Purdon (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing) has worked himself up to second place 28 points behind Branch, while Gilbert, who crashed during the season opener, is now third, six points behind Purdon. Ruan Potgieter (KTM) is fourth with Tim Young (Sherco Liqui Moly Racing) dropping from second to fifth place after not scoring points during the third round in Botswana.
In OR2, Mahoney quickly got his groove back after not competing last year and now trails Swanepoel by 19 points after three consecutive runner-up results. Ruan Smith (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing) stepped onto the podium and is 14 points behind Mahoney with Marius Venter (KTM) dropping to fourth, only one point ahead of Gareth Cole (KTM). Jaycee Nienaber (Super Moose Racing KTM), who was second, as well as Cameron Becker (KTM Centurion Liqui Moly Racing), who was also in the top five, has dropped to eighth and ninth respectively after not competing in Botswana.
Flanagan has a breathing space of 22 points ahead of Wilhelm Schönfeldt (BCR Arrow Yamaha Racing) in OR3. Schönfeldt had the same amount of points as his arch rival Jarryd Coetzee (Brother Leader Tread KTM) before the TDR, but Coetzee is recovering from an injury and did not compete. Schönfeldt will now have to look out for Charan Moore (Live Lesotho Yamaha) as the Lesotho rider is only one point behind and rounding off the podium after two runner-up results in Botswana. Ian Rall (KTM) is fourth with Haydn Cole (KTM) fifth. A blanket of only 18 points covers Schönfeldt, Moore, Rall and Cole.
The desert proved to be challenging to the youngsters in the High School championship, but two more victories for the class leader, Stefan van Deventer (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha Racing), means he now leads Juan-Pierre de Villiers (Q-KON EMD Basefit Racing KTM), who claimed two podium results at the TDR, by 16 points. Maarten van Jaarsveld (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna) is third, four points behind De Villiers with Ryan Pelser (KTM) still fourth, one point ahead of Barend Pretorius (KTM) who moved into the top five after finishing fourth in both events in Botswana.
There was quite a shake-up in the Senior Class and the only rider in the top five whose position remained the same, was the leader, Juan ‘Bollie’ van Rooyen (Brother Leader Tread KTM) who added two more victories to his previous two scored earlier this season. Hentie Hanekom (Husqvarna) moved from third to second after two podium results in the desert while Bruce Viljoen (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna) dropped to third place, eight points behind Hanekom, after a disappointing result at the fourth round.
Bruce May (Bidvest Blu Cru Yamaha) is now five points behind Viljoen in fourth with Willem du Toit (Husqvarna), who will be competing in the 2018 Dakar Rally, somewhat further behind in fifth.
The Battle of the Masters is continuing with the defending champion, Wayne Farmer (Doorzone Bikers Warehouse Husqvarna) a mere two points behind the leader, Pieter Holl (KTM) despite a double TDR victory. Holl added two TDR runner-up results to his two victories earlier this year while a third place at the Dundee event and a loss of two points for Farmer prevents him from levelling with Holl. Faan van Deventer (Yamaha) is still third, 14 points behind Farmer with the experienced track car racer, Iain Pepper (Pepson Plastics Husqvarna Racing), fifth in his first ever season of cross country racing, some 30 points adrift.
In the Silver Interprovincial Challenge, Matthew Coetzee and Ryan van Es (KTM) share the same amount of points with Patrick Moore (Yamaha) two points behind. Dayna Nienaber (KTM) leads the Ladies Class after two victories in Botswana.
The Manufacturers Championship is heating up as KTM still lead Husqvarna, but Yamaha is now only five points behind Husqvarna and eyeing the second place. Sherco is fourth.
In the quad championship, there is not much between the front runners in the overall standings. Hannes Saaijman (Q-KON EMD Basefit Racing VLS) still leads despite only one overall victory and is 12 points ahead of Pierre van Heerden (Suzuki) with scholar, Keenan Hammon (Yamaha) moving onto the overall podium and trailing Van Heerden by only one point after good results at the TDR. Hammon is only six points ahead of double TDR winner, Hannes’ brother and team-mate, Attie, who is again only six points ahead of Stef Bester (Yamaha). Like Attie, Hennie Michau Jnr (Yamaha) also made his debut in the popular Toyota 1000 Desert Race and two podium positions place him in sixth place on the overall standings, four points behind Bester.
Werner Mostert (Can-Am Side-by-Side) is seventh, seven points behind Michau and only three points ahead of Hennie Michau Snr (Yamaha) with Russell Ferreira (Yamaha), Motsumi Lekone (Yamaha) and Dean Bradbury (Can-Am Side-by-Side) all five points behind Michau Snr.
In the Open Championship, Hannes Saaijman, who experienced problems during both events in Botswana, has a healthier position and leads Van Heerden by 13 points with Attie now in third, seven points behind. Bester is fourth, six points behind Attie Saaijman and only four points ahead of both Michau Jnr and Hammon. The Michau’s as well as the TDR winner have not competed at national level this year and things might look different if they decide not to add more points to their tally.
Junior Vardy (Yamaha) leads the Silver Interprovincial Challenge after a double TDR victory.
In the Manufacturer’s Trophy, Yamaha has a comfortable lead over Honda with Can-Am only five points adrift in third place and Suzuki only eight points behind in fourth. KTM is fifth.
The fifth round of the SACCS Moto, the Harrismith 400, takes place on Friday, 28 July at the Eeram Farmers Complex on the outskirts of Harrismith in the Free State.